The experience of ‘I am’ , of the Self, is present in all of us, but when the mischievous senses gang up on us and try to make us believe something that is patently untrue, we believe them AND IGNORE OUR DIRECT EXPEREINCE.Sri Annamalai Swami

“A man who was a little mad lived in a small village with his wife. His friends liked to tease him and make fun of him because they all thought he was stupid. One day, one of them said, ‘We have some bad news for you. Your wife has become a widow.’ He believed them and started crying out in grief, ‘My wife has become a widow! My wife has become a widow!’ Some of the people he passed on the street laughed at him and said, ‘Why are you mourning? You are very much alive. How can your wife be widow if you yourself are alive to complain about it?’ ‘My close friends have told me this,’ he replied, and ‘I trust them. They are very reliable people. If they are saying that my wife has become a widow, it must be true.’ “

Sri Swami says that we may think that a man who behaves like this must be utterly foolish because he chose to believe the words of others instead of his own direct experience that he is alive. But we are no better if not worse. We believe, on the basis of indirect information and testimony provided by the senses, that we are independent, separate entities with the body and the mind. We ignore the direct experience of ‘I am’, the Self, present in all of us, and like the stupid man in the quoted story, we believe our senses which provides indirect knowledge that we are limited. One’s own awareness is direct knowledge and that is the common experience of one and all and therefore no external aids are needed to realize one’s Self. We love existence. Do we not? We love existence because it is eternal awareness which is our own Self. Why not then hold on to pure awareness while in the body, and be free from the self-inflicted limitation?

Dear Devotees, HEREIN LIES THE GREATNESS OF SRI BAHGWAN’S TEACHING OF THE SELF-ENQUIRY. We must have deep faith in the Guru, because the Guru is pointing and diverting our attention to the direct experience of one and all, that is, to the direct experience of ‘Being- Consciousness’, of the ‘I am’, of the Self, present in all. Sri Bhagwan is not asking us to add another belief to our mind. HE IS INSTEAD TELLING US TO LOOK AT OUR OWN EXPERIENCE OF OURSELBVES, AND IN DOING SO, TO DISREGARD EVERYTHING ELSE.

Sri Bhagwan awakened us to that Reality within us, the same Reality that is Sri Bhagwan Himself. Whether every one of us realizes or not, there is no doubt in my mind that it is sheer good luck and we all are truly graced to get exposed to the Direct and Straight Path of the Atma-Vichara as taught by Sri Bhagwan.

In the literature of Vedanta, the analogy of a rope on the groundappearing to be a snake is often cited: the snake-appearance is unreal; it iscaused by ignorance. But once this ignorance is dispelled, the reality isseen, and it is perceived that there never was a snake, but only the rope allalong. In the same way, it is held, once the Unitive Reality is experienced,the phenomenal universe is seen to have been a mere mirage, or illusion.But Sri Jnandev states emphatically that there is no such thing as ignorance; that even this multitude of sense objects is only that being, the one Self. For Sri Jnaneshvar, there is One and One only. He objects to the notion that the perception of the multiple universe is caused by a second additional factor, whether it becalled “ignorance,” “Maya,” “delusion,” or “superimposition”, all of which are terms traditionally used to account for the world-appearance. He regardssuch terms as misleading; for, as he states, “The Cause and the effect areone.”For Sri Jnaneshvar, the multitude of sense objects, far from being asuperimposed illusion, is only that one Being, the Self; and the perceptionof objects, far from being caused by ignorance, is caused simply by theLord’s delight in perceiving Himself through Himself in the form ofcreatures. “It is not ignorance that causes the separation between theperceiver and the perceived,” says Sri Jnaneshvar; “truly, He is everything,and He is the Cause of everything.” In Sri Jnaneshvar’s philosophy, there isno place for Maya, or illusion, for he wishes to dissolve the mental barrierswhich separate the world and God. His vision refuses to allow anydisruption to the Unity that he sees spreading everywhere, whether with hiseyes closed in meditation, or wakeful and active in the manifested world.

In truth, all beings and all elements,From the gods to the smallest particle of earth,Are illumined by His rays.

It is because of HimThat knowledge knows,Sight sees,And light illumines.

Who, then, is that mean personWho has designated Him as “ignorance”?Really!Is it not like saying the Sun is tied upIn a sack of darkness?

To write the letter ‘A’Before the word, jnana (knowledge,As a means of enhancingThe greatness of jnana!Is that not an extraordinary methodOf expanding a word’s meaning?

What’s the point of placing a fireIn a cardboard box?It will only turn that into flamesAs well!

It is pointless to speakAbout the notion of ignoranceWhen the whole universeIs the vibration of Knowledge.

Even to speak of ignoranceIs, itself, a vibration of Knowledge.Then, mustn’t we call this Knowledge“Knowledge”?

By His own illumination,The Self is perceiving HimselfIn all these various forms.

How is it, then, that ignorance,Which dissolves before the searchlightOf thought,Might acquire perception,And see itself as the visible world?

If ignorance statesThat it gives birth to the world,Which is Knowledge,And attempts to establish its existenceBy means of ignorance.

Then the world itselfHas incontrovertibly provenThe non-existence of ignorance;Because ignorance and KnowledgeAre not things that are relatedIn the way that a substanceAnd its quality are related.

Knowledge could be a quality of ignoranceIf pearls could be made with water,Or if a lamp could be kept lit with ashes.

Ignorance could emit the light of KnowledgeIf the moon could emit leaping flames,Or if the sky could be turned to stone.

It is certainly astoundingThat a deadly poisonCould arise from an ocean of milk;But, could a deadly poisonGive rise to pure nectar?

Even supposingThat ignorance were produced from Knowledge,That ignorance would vanish at its very birth.Then, again, nothing would remain butKnowledge.

Just as the Sun is nothing but the Sun,The moon is nothing but the moon,And the flame of a lampIs nothing but a flame,

Be assured alsoThat the light of ConsciousnessIs nothing but Light.The whole universeIs nothing but the luminosity of the Self.

The scriptures declare with assuranceThat everything that existsIs radiating with His light.Is it said for no reason?

The light of the SelfIs, Itself, the causeOf the appearance of His beautyWhich He, Himself, is enjoying.

To ignore this truth,And to regard ignorance as the causeOf the Self’s appearance to HimselfIs utterly unreasonable.

Source: Amritanubhav

Sri Bhagwan : When the objects are not themselves present how can maya exist?Maya is ya ma, or maya is what is not or She who is not is maya.And elsewhere:“When one looks for it (Ego-I), it is not found because it is not real. Hence ‘I’ is synonymous with illusion or ignorance (maya, avidya or ajnana). To know that there never was ignorance is the goal of all the spiritual teachings. Ignorance must be of one who is aware. Awareness is Jnana. Jnana is eternal and natural. Ajnana is unnatural and unreal.”

Sri Bhagwan says that a Play is going on in which One Single Being becomes manifold, is objectified and diversified, and then withdrawn. For a play to be enacted, a script and a stage are necessary. This is a Play in which the stage, actors and plot are all scripted.

The Play commences with the appearance of the Original Darkness or the Original Sin or the Original Ignorance in the One Pure Being. The One Pure, Radiant Being can rise up as the ego only in Its Light diffused through this Original Darkness. The Light of the Self passing through it is called the Reflected Light. This may also be termed as the First Reflection or the Original Reflection. Sri Bhagwan has taught that the Reflected Light on its own merits is known as the Pure Mind or God. Moreover, God is said to be unified with Maya or Shakti. Nevertheless, the Maya or Shakti though wonderful cannot be seen in the Self-shining Pure Being. However Her actions are sublime and only too well known.

Sri Bhagwan taught that just as the artificial light is projected through a lens on to the screen, so also the Reflected Light passes through the THOUGHT which acts as the magnifier before expanding as the seer and the seen or the world beyond it. Thus appear the rajasic ego and the tamasic thought-forms. Ego therefore is the second reflection and is the product of second darkness or second ignorance. Thought itself is the world in the seed form which appears to be the wide external world. Such is the extraordinary Power!

Sri Bhagwan also taught that ‘I’-thought and ‘this’-thought were both emanations from the same Light. They are related to ‘rajoguna’ and ‘tamoguna’ respectively. THEREFORE, IN ORDER TO HAVE THE PURE REFLECTED LIGHT OR PURE SATVA, FREE FROM RAJAS AND TAMAS, IT MUST SHINE AS ‘I-I’, UNBROKEN BY either ‘I’-THOUGHT or ‘THIS’-THOUGHT. Sri Bhagwan revealed that it was this Pure State which momentarily intervened between sleep and waking. If prolonged It is Cosmic Consciousness or even God. In this way, God, individual and the world are only of the same REFLECTED LIGHT, all having the Self-Shining, Single, Pure Radiant Being, that is, the Self or the Brahman, as the SUBSTRATUM.

“The difference between God and individual is only in name, form and intelligence. They are the same in their essential nature as the Heart or the Self.”V. 24, Upadesha Saram

Sri Bhagwan : Just as a rope-snake cannot be seen in broad daylight, nor rope itself in thick darkness, so also the world appears neither in the Samadhi state of Self-shining Pure Being or in deep sleep, swoon, etc. Only in Reflected Light (Light mixed with Darkness or Knowledge soiled by Ignorance) can the world, NOT INDEPENDENT OF ITS SOURCE, seems to rise up, flourish and be resolved.

Dear devotees, Sri Bhagwan taught that our waking, dream and sleep states had their origin in the Original Darkness or the Original Ignorance. Mind goes outward and experiences from its modes in the waking and dream states, and in sleep it is indrawn and have experiences with modes of Maya, all being regulated by a Unique Power.

However, all these are merely PHENOMENA passing through the REFLECTED LIGHT on the substratum of the Self-shining Pure Radiant Being.

Indeed! All this is a mere Play. If we enquire, reach and abide in the One Pure Radiant Being as That, we transcend the Divine Play and simultaneously discover that there never was the ignorance as Sri Bhagwan and the great Sages, such as Sri Jnaneshvar, taught.

On 27th June you wrote " There is no happening in the Self. Whatever is happening is happening in our mind only ... If we take our position and are established in the Stillness... We understand irreversibly that there is no manifestation whatever. All manifestations are dream like".

I am sure it is superfluous to tell you that since your return these posts have been wonderful. I sit upright in an office chair reading the screen and often don't get very far ..they quickly still my mind. As your depth of understanding and experience of Sri Bhagwan deepens there is a freedom and boldness in the writing ( cf the highlighting of Dispassion).

I understand your words (edited above) as this relates to the mind. But you are also interspersing your posts with quotations from Sri Jnaneshvar.

Is he not renowned for his poetry in expressing the Oneness of Shiva and Shakti, whilst always stressing the Oneness depicting this Unity as the Unity of the Still and Unmanifest (Shiva) and of Movement and Manifest (Shakti) ?

I know this is on a different level of sadhana and the necessary practice of the jiva and his mind - indeed beyond all this. (And therefore probably don't ask questions !)

But can we usefully regard Sri Bhagwan's life as Manifest and, without any doership, his life and words as Movement ?

You mention "I am that I am ". Chapter 1 verse 14 of St John's Gospel effectively reads " And the " I am that I am" became flesh and pitched his tent among us and we gazed on his glory, the glory as of the "monogenes" ** of the Father, full of grace and truth".

Quote from Sri cefnbrithir:“I understand your words (edited above) as this relates to the mind. But you are also interspersing your posts with quotations from Sri Jnaneshvar.Is he not renowned for his poetry in expressing the Oneness of Shiva and Shakti, whilst always stressing the Oneness depicting this Unity as the Unity of the Still and Unmanifest (Shiva) and of Movement and Manifest (Shakti) ?

I know this is on a different level of sadhana and the necessary practice of the jiva and his mind - indeed beyond all this. (And therefore probably don't ask questions !)

But can we usefully regard Sri Bhagwan's life as Manifest and, without any doership, his life and words as Movement ?

You mention "I am that I am ". Chapter 1 verse 14 of St John's Gospel effectively reads " And the " I am that I am" became flesh and pitched his tent among us and we gazed on his glory, the glory as of the "monogenes" ** of the Father, full of grace and truth".”

Dear Sri cefnbrithir,

Yes. Sri Bhagwan taught the same truth in different ways to suit different states, beliefs and capacity of the various devotees who sought refuge at His Feet. He affirmed to His intimate devotees that ‘Ajata’ is alone the Supreme Truth. The ‘Ajata’ doctrine says that nothing exists except the one Reality. There is no birth or death, no projection or drawing in, there is no bondage, not even anyone doing spiritual practices, no one seeking spiritual liberation, and no one who is liberated. However, to such as find it difficult to grasp, the ‘Doctrine of the illusory appearance’ or the ‘Vivarta Sidhanata’ or ‘the Drishti-Shrishti Vada’ is taught as an explanation for the world manifestation. As I understand, though Sri Bhagwan was established in ‘Ajata’, He actually taught to most of His devotees the doctrine of the ‘illusory appearance’ since, in my view, it would provide maximum practical benefit to the seekers of Truth. WHEN A SEEKER TRULY UNDERSTANDS THAT THE WORLD IS AN ILLUSORY PROJECTION OF THE MIND, HIS MIND WILL NO LONGER MOVE TOWARDS IT. And when this happens the mind goes back to its Source and merges into It, leaving the supreme Ajata Experience in which one knows directly that the world never existed or was created only in imagination or in a dream. This is also called the doctrine of simultaneous creation which as a working hypothesis enables a seeker to find the Ultimate Truth. However, to such as cannot grasp even this Teaching, the argument called ‘Shrishti-Drishti vada was taught : God first created such and such a thing, out of such and such an element. And then something else, and so forth. To such, it is the best to say: Yes, God created all this and you see it. Therefore, dear friend, Sri cefnbrithir, all these are only to suit the different levels of sadhana and capacity of different seekers. The trinity of knower, known and knowledge is an appearance on the Substratum of Unity, Existence-Consciousness, just as the rope is the substratum for the appearance of the snake.

We must understand that the EXISTENCE IS ALL-POWERFUL. It is All-powerful Existence indeed. Power implies movement. So, God though moves by His Power (Shakti), He transcends the movement, for He is ‘Achala’.

So, it all depends upon the attitude of the seeker. THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUTH. The Power is not different from the Powerful. Power is of the Powerful. Therefore, if we look at the movement, we call it Power or Shakti or the Manifestation and Movement. Merging and settling in the Support (Reality or Existence-Consciousness), we call It ‘Achala’ or ‘Unmoving’. So, if the former is activity or the movement, the latter is its Support or the Substance. It is easy to understand that the Power cannot be separated from the Substance. They are therefore two aspects of the same Truth. BUT WITHOUT THE MOVEMENT, THE REAL SUBSTANCE CANNOT BE APPREHENDED. Shakti is coeval with God. It has no existence apart from Him. That is why Sri Bhagwan taught that in the Pure Radiant Being the Shakti or maya is not to be found. The whole movement, the creation, etc., is the Play of the Shakti formulated by the Lord. If this imagination is transcended by Vichara, what remains is the Atma-swarupa.

Dear Sri Cefnbrithir, yes. Sri Bhagwan is Sri Arunachala Incarnate or God Incarnate. Therefore, he is the ‘Achala’, or Unmoving. No doership can ever be attributed to Him. His Life, Utterances and Movement are the Activity of His Shakti as formulated by Him. Yet, this is valid from our stand-point only, for He is the Self and the only Reality.

Your understanding regarding Sri Jnaneshvar’s Teaching, in my view, is flawless and perfect. His depiction of Oneness as the Unity of the Still and Movement, that is, of Shiva and Shakti, is without parallel. For Sri Jnaneshvar, everything is the delightful sport of God. For Him, it is because of Union of Shiva (Unmanifest) and Shakti (Movement, manifestation) that the whole universe exists. He also taught as Sri Bhagwan that Their duality (Shiva and Shakti) disappears when their ESSENTIAL UNITY is seen. Yes, His poetic expression, depicting duality in unity and unity in duality, is one of the most beautiful and sublime spiritual expressions ever composed.

Why has the Self-enquiry been described as the Straight and Direct Path? Because the Self is the only Reality and unlike other paths, the Enquiry has the Self alone as the Target, and therefore has the undeviating nature of always moving towards the Self. Once the attention has been drawn to one’s own awareness of oneself by Grace and one’s own conscious effort, there is no stopping back, for there is no scope for confusion in this Path whatever because then the Self alone is the Target. Enquiry has been likened to the sun and its rays. The Self is the sun and the Enquiry is its rays. As the sun’s rays and light are straight and direct and it can be traced by its rays, so also, the Enquiry is straight and direct and one reaches the Self by tracing the Source of the Self, holding one’s own awareness of oneself. IF ONE EMBARKS UPON THE PATH OF VICHARA WITH SINCEREITY AND AN EARNESTNESS OF PURPOSE, THE STRAIGHTNESS AND DIRECTNESS OF THE PATH ARE REVEALED SOONER THAN LATER.

Dear devotees, Sri Bhagwan taught that the Vichara is the practice as well as the goal. Did He not? Sri Bhagwan taught that however many duties we might perform, at all other times not meant for performing duties, WE MUST PERFROM ONLY SELF-ENQUIRY. We can perform Vichara while standing, sitting, taking food, etc. The mind forgets to do Enquiry because of vasanas only. However, when it remembers the Enquiry, there should be strong, conscious endeavour to not to lose hold of the Enquiry again.

Some of us say that there are times when the Enquiry is easy and at other times it is hopelessly difficult. Obviously it is so because of vasanas or predispositions. But I never accepted the view that it was difficult. How can it be difficult? Really it is easy, since we are the Self. Are not we not?. If we are not the Self who are we anyway? Sri Bhagwan : All we have to do is remember that. We keep on forgetting it, and thus we think we are the body, or the ego. IF THE WILL AND DESIRE TO REMEMBER SELF ARE STRONG, THEY WILL EVENTUALLY OVERCOME VASANAS.

Dear devotees, a great battle is going on inwardly, all the time until the Self is realized, in the minds of all those who embark on the great Path of Enquiry. It is this battle which has been described symbolically in scriptures as the fight between God and Satan. Sri Bhagwan says also that in the ‘Mahabharata’ the asuras represent our bad thoughts and the devas the elevating ones.

Yes, it may appear very difficult intially for a mind with roving nature to abide in the Self as the Self. Thoughts will keep on rising due to vasanas. But again I reiterate that, as taught, we must, at the very moment each thought rises, vigilantly enquire, ‘To whom did this rise?’, it will be known ‘To me’. If one then enquires ‘Who am I?’, the mind will turn back to its Source, and the thought which had arisen will subside. Teaching is without parallel. All it requires is perseverance, for there is no doubt that by repeatedly practicing thus, the power of the mind to abide in its Source increases. Moreover, if one practices thus DAY AFTER DAY, a stage in sadhana is reached, when as soon as one begins the Enquiry, MERGING AND ABIDING IN THE HEART WILL BEGIN TO HAPPEN AUTOMATICALLY, TILL IT BECOMES EFFORTLESS.

Dear devotees, the sentence “As the sun’s rays and light are straight and direct and it can be traced by its rays, so also, the Enquiry is straight and direct and one reaches the Self by tracing the Source of the Self, holding one’s own awareness of oneself” should read as:

“As the sun’s rays and light are straight and direct and it can be traced by its rays, so also, the Enquiry is straight and direct and one reaches the Self by tracing the Source of the ‘I’-consciousness, present in one and all, that is, holding one’s own awareness of oneself.”

See, how effortlessly, like a cuckoo, Sri Muruganar sings the divine songs of Jnana-Vichara, which in truth, is Swarupa-Vichara or the Atma-Vichara!

Mind , the veiling, has stolen away the Self, the consciousness-light of unlimited bliss. When its form is destroyed by thoroughly enquiring ‘Who am I?’, it will shine illustriously as the supreme space of swarupa. V. 402, GVK< Edited by Sri David Godman

Just as a ball heated in a fire glows as a mass of fire by virtue of that heating process, when the jiva that is polluted is heated in the purifying fire of atam-vichara, it will shine as Atma-swarupa itself.V. 403, GVK, Edited by Sri David Godman

Dear devotees, when the form of the mind is destroyed by the enquiry and it becomes formless, It is verily the Absolute Consciousness and then It itself shines illustriously as the Supreme Space of Swarupa. The Sacred Texts also declare that the Formless and Pure Mind of the Jnani is verily the Self or Brahman.

O Fool, try to carry thyself upon thy own shoulders! O beggar, to come beg at thy own door!

Leave all thy burdens on his hands who can bear all, and never look behind in regret.

Thy desire at once puts out the light from the lamp it touches with its breath. It is unholy---take not thy gifts through its unclean hands. Accept only what is offered by sacred love. Sri Rabindranath Tagore

Dear devotees, Sacred Gita is equally harsh on the inimical desires.

“Asha-pasha-shatair-badhah’……..

Bound with a hundred cords of hopes and expectations, and enslaved by lust and anger, they strive to accumulate wealth in improper ways for the fulfilment of their sensuous desires.V. 16-12, Gita

He who abandons the commandments of the scriptures and lives as his desires prompt him, he attains neither spiritual perfection, nor worldly happiness, nor liberation.V. 16-23

Dear devotees, unholy and sensuous desires breeding inimical lust, hatred and anger pertain to the pernicious ego. As soon as the unreality of the ‘impostor’, that is, the ego, is revealed by Enquiry, they vanish. Enquiry itself enables a seeker to get rid of these unholy accretions and superimpositions.

How beautiful poem from a Great poet and Soul,Sri Rabindranath Tagore. And such a beautiful post from You.

Indeed,the more we are seriously into the spirituality,the more we follow the path of Self enquiry,the more we come to understanding that all our desires,cravings,wishing,emotions,thoughts,we need to drop and renounce. Which,sure,comes along with constant reminder to whom they belong in the first place,like Sri Bhagavan always reminded. Because,all that constitute ego only. All that is coming from that basic belief that we are this body,and this particular person. There is always some want lingering,and our resistance to drop it,making all sorts of excuses. But then comes the moment,when even that need to be dropped. How can we realise our true nature,if we are constantly clinging to idea that we are body?! We need to offer every part of our being to our Guru,to God,if we want to get rid of this prison,the prison we builded ourselves. One single wish or idea shouldnt left,anything which comes from the illusion that we are separate entety.

Accidently,i found one poem from a Great Zen Master Ryiokan,which speaks just about that,and seeing Your post i thought it will fit nicely.

I watch people in the world Throw away their lives lusting after things, Never able to satisfy their desires, Falling into deeper despair And torturing themselves. Even if they get what they want How long will they be able to enjoy it? For one heavenly pleasure They suffer ten torments of hell, Binding themselves more firmly to the grindstone. Such people are like monkeys Frantically grasping for the moon in the water And then falling into a whirlpool. How endlessly those caught up in the floating world suffer. Despite myself, I fret over them all night And cannot staunch my flow of tears.

Quote from Sri Jewell:“Indeed, the more we are seriously into the spirituality, the more we follow the path of Self enquiry, the more we come to understanding that all our desires, cravings, wishing, emotions, thoughts, we need to drop and renounce. Which, sure, comes along with constant reminder to whom they belong in the first place, like Sri Bhagavan always reminded. Because, all that constitute ego only. All that is coming from that basic belief that we are this body, and this particular person. There is always some want lingering, and our resistance to drop it, making all sorts of excuses. But then comes the moment, when even that need to be dropped. How can we realise our true nature, if we are constantly clinging to idea that we are body?! We need to offer every part of our being to our Guru, to God, if we want to get rid of this prison, the prison we builded ourselves. One single wish or idea shouldnt left, anything which comes from the illusion that we are separate entity.”

Dear Sri Jewell,

Yes. Your post is the echo of my own heart. Desires, lust, anger, infatuation, etc., are because of the ‘I’-thought or the ‘I’-conceit or the ego. Ego always comes holding a form or a body, thus giving rise to ‘I am the body’ idea which results in the notion of differentiation. Ego merging in its Source or not rising, the whole chain of mishaps vanish. Therefore, we must prevent the rise of the ego in the first place. Sri Bhagwan taught that desire, lust, anger, etc., could only be conquered by remaining in our Real Nature and that is Vichara.

Desires are like fire. Fire cannot be put out by pouring spirit over the flames. So, satiation with the fulfillment of desires can never be the proper way for the seekers of truth. The more the desires are fulfilled, the deeper grows the samskaras. If we satisfy one desire, it leads to proliferation of desires and many more desires are born, making us even much more agitated and unhappy than before.

Dear friend, Sri Jewell, we are in truth consciousness or awareness or spirit. But we are wrongly identifying ourselves with the gross body. Sri Bhagwan taught, ‘HAD IT BEEN YOUR REAL NATURE NO DESIRE WOULD DISTURB YOU.’ This is why every time we attempt at satisfaction of a desire, the knowledge comes that it is better to desist. Repeated reminders of this kind gradually weakens the desires. The weakening of desires cannot be brought about by losing oneself in desires but by restraining them. Desires can be rendered weaker by the knowledge that desires, anger and lust, etc., are in the mind and we are not the mind.

Dear Sri Jewell, I would like to quote a very important statement of Sri Bhagwan regarding desire, from Talk—520, as follows:

“You admit your existence in sleep. You did not function then. You were not aware of any gross body. You did not limit yourself to this body. So you could not find anything separate from your Self. Now in your waking state you continue to be the same Existence with the limitations of the body added. These limitations make you see other objects. HENCE ARISES DESIRE. BUT THE STATE OF DESIRELESSNESS IN SLEEP MADE YOU NO LESS HAPPY THAN NOW. You did not feel any want. You did not make yourself miserable by not entertaining desires. BUT NOW YOU ENTERTAIN DESIRES BECAUSE YOU ARE LIMITED TO THIS HUMAN FRAME. WHY DO YOU WISH TO RETAIN THESE LIMITATION AND CONTINUE TO ENTERTAIN DESIRES ?”

Dear friend, Desires, anger, lust, infatuation, etc., are mere thoughts. Thoughts are disturbances. Why are these disturbances troubling us? Sri Bhagwan has taught that whenever there is a sense of separateness from the Source there is agitation and movement until the sense of separateness is lost, as in the case of water evaporating from the ocean, falling down as rain, emerging in a river and finally again merging in the ocean. Until the water reaches its source from where it separated, it remains restless and agitated. Just as a river does not continue its flow after its discharge into the ocean, SO IT IS WITH OURSELVES. A PERSON LOSES ALL MOVEMENTS AFTER HE MERGES IN THE SELF. Now that we identify ourselves with the body we think that we are separate from the Consciousness—the True Self. THEREFORE, WE MUST REGAIN OUR SOURCE. THE FALSE IDENTITY MUST CEASE AND WE ARE HAPPY. False identity must cease and we are Infinite Intelligence, i.e. the Self.

FALSE INDENTIY MUST CEASE BY VICHARA AND WE ARE THE PRFECT PEACE AND UNTELLABLE BLISS.

Quote:“Such people are like monkeys Frantically grasping for the moon in the water And then falling into a whirlpool. How endlessly those caught up in the floating world suffer. Despite myself, I fret over them all night And cannot staunch my flow of tears.”

My desr friend, Sri Jewell, yes, Sri Ryiokan’s poem is a beauty to say the least and is quite apt and relevant to this discussion on desire.

If the Self, which is pure Knowledge itself,Requires the help of another knowledge,Would that not be like the Sun seeking helpOf another light?

It is meaningless to sayThat the Self is, itself, KnowledgeIf its greatness dependsOn some knowledge other than Itself.If a lamp desires another lampTo give it light,It must be that it has gone out.

Could one who was ignorant of his own existenceWander about to various countries in search ofhimself?

How might one declareThat he was happy to remember himselfAfter so many days?

Also, if the Self,Who is, himself, pure Consciousness,Thinks, “I am conscious of myself; I am He!”Such knowledge would be bondage.

This kind of knowledge is deplorable,Since it conceals the original KnowledgeAnd fosters the illusion of freedom.

Therefore, when the ego of the individual isdestroyed,And ignorance vanishes,The four levels of speech,Which are ornaments of the four bodies, alsovanish.

When ignorance, being utterly dejected,Enters the fire of ConsciousnessAlong with her organs,Nothing remains but the ashes of knowledge.

When camphor is dissolved in water, it cannot beseen;But it can be detected as fragrance in the water.

Though one’s shadow may not be seen at noontime,Still, it remains under one’s feet.

So, also, the KnowledgeThat swallows everything other than ItselfIs merged in the ultimate Reality,But remains as knowledge.Sage Sri Jnaneshvar

Dear devotees, the attempt to describe the Self, therefore, is akin to the attempt to draw a picture of the calm surface of the water on the calm surface of water by stirring in the water with a stick or LIKE TRYING TO EXPRESS SILENCE WITH A BRASS BAND.

You said it all beautifully,like always! Indeed,there is no desire,or any kind of want in the Self,so all that belongs to this false imagined entity called ego. I was analizing deeply all those desires and impulses,and i came to one conclusion. There is no single desire which is actually realistic,so to say. With constant thinking,what is that which actually makes me think i am desiring this or that,i saw that there is no any valid reason. Literally!!! It is illusion in the real sense of that word. We see this world and people around us very subjectievly,with some already established picture in the mind,which is in reality nothing but projection. There is nothing real in it. Which is obvious if we come to terms that the one who wants all that is non existent too. And if there is no reality in it,how can its projections be real.

Also, if the Self,Who is, himself, pure Consciousness,Thinks, “I am conscious of myself; I am He!”Such knowledge would be bondage.

Wonderful words from Sri Jnaneshvar! So true! Why should the Self need to express anything. Can there be such need in the Supreme? Only ego can claim something like that,and more,only ego have the need to claim something like that,or anything else as the matter of fact.

And Your conclusion, '' the attempt to describe the Self, therefore, is akin to the attempt to draw a picture of the calm surface of the water by stirring in the water with a stick or LIKE TRYING TO EXPRESS SILENCE WITH A BRASS BAND.'',is very beautiful and true,dear Sri Anil!

Even in reality that Silence must have totally different quality,for simple reason ego cannot know silence,in the real sense of that word. Ego is noise itself. So again,there is Silence only,not the one who need to be silent. But it is most close to the truth because it negates the thoughts and mind,and enable us to come in touch with just pure Self attention,just Being,and make ego drown in Awareness. So any attempt to describe the Self will verily belong to unreality.

These are just some thoughts,but even that is not completely true i feel,coz any understanding,if i even can call it that way,it cant be expressed anyway,and again demands just Silence itself. Simply coy it is beyond ego and mind altogether.

If bondage itself is unreal,How can freedom arise from its destruction?This freedom is only something createdBy the self-destruction of ignorance.

Beautiful! Like Bhagavan would said,'Who is that who needs the freedom,or is in bondage?'. There is indeed no one to claim any of that,coz the very one who is subject to both,is unreal himself. There is no bondage of 'me',because i am that bondage itself. With its destruction,there is no freedom also,because,it would again need some entity to be free. With the death of the person,or ego,all what remains is Reality only. In that way,like Sri Jnaneshvar said,both freedom and bondage are part of ignorance only.

Quote from Sri Jewell: “Even in reality that Silence must have totally different quality, for simple reason ego cannot know silence, in the real sense of that word. Ego is noise itself. So again, there is Silence only, not the one who need to be silent. But it is most close to the truth because it negates the thoughts and mind, and enable us to come in touch with just pure Self attention, just Being, and make ego drown in Awareness. So any attempt to describe the Self will verily belong to unreality.”

Dear Sri Jewell,

I am sorry for my belated response to your beautiful, meaningful and insightful post. The reason is this that with the onset of monsoon in the state of Bihar of this country, I have been deputed and engaged by the government in its flood control activities which make quick actions necessary in emergency situations. So, up to 15 the October, there may come times when I may not be able to either respond or share my feelings and understanding in the forum for a few days however earnestly I may wish to do so. It is worth mention here that Bihar is the most badly flood-affected state of this country because all the rivers originating from the hills of Nepal enter the plains of this state, carrying heavy silt and almost uncontrollable runoff, which ravage the lives and properties of the unfortunate people almost every year.

Dear Sri Jewell, I was taken aback by the contents of your post because they reflect the same feeling, understanding and insight as that of mine so closely.

Sri Bhagwan taught, ‘Thoughts change but not you’, ‘You must exist in order to think’. Enquiry intensifies the feeling of Existence which is Consciousness and therefore facilitates a seeker to gradually gravitate towards holding of the unchanging ‘You’ or ‘I’ or the Self, and let go the passing thoughts. ‘You’, ‘I’ or the Self is ever realized and never non-realised. Who says that he is not realized? Certainly it is the ego or the ‘I’-thought. Therefore, the ego’s lamentation that it is not realized is absurd, to say the least. Can the insentient thought can ever realize That which is Pure Consciousness. No way. We swerve away from the Atma-Swarupa or the Self due to thinking and thoughts and identification with them. Hence Sri Bhagwan taught that it was within our competence to think or get bound or to cease thinking and thus be free.

EXISTENCE IS THEREFORE INDEPENDENT OF THINKING. It depends on nothing. EXISTENCE IS. Every experience that we have, every knowledge that we derive in this phantom world of phenomena, is a mere thought. Thoughts alone translate sensations and objects into experience by making them come alive with our attention. So, how can thought, which is not, reach That which Is, that is, real ‘I’ or ‘You’ or the Self? THOUGHT IS THE PHENOMENAL KNOWLEDGE AND PHENOMENAL LIGHT. Hoping to realize the Swarupa by the feeble, reflected light of the ‘I’-thought therefore is akin to searching the sun with a candle light.

Enquiry certainly will take us much deeper if we recognize that all our goal-orientation is thought, and all we need to achieve, to know, to experience is thought. We want to realize with a thought. But it is the very thoughts that screen the Truth. We must realise that thought cannot touch the Self. We must also recognize that the seeming closeness to Self-realisation or being away or apparent difficulty in pursuing the path or being disturbed and unable to practice, etc., are all the projections of the mind. All these projections are for the experiencer or the practitioner of the path. AND WHO IS THE ONE WHO PRACTICES? Who is the sadhaka? Is he one who feels close to Self-awareness? Or is he one who feels away and depressed? Or is he one who makes progress or is not making progress? Or is he one who is obstructed on the inward way and feels that he should first take up a preparatory sadhna to Enquiry? WHO IS THAT ‘I’?

My dear friend, Sri Jewell, when we have not known the True ‘I’, or the Self, WHILE THE SEARCH IS STILL ON, WHAT DO THE THOUGHTS AND MOODS OF THE STRANGER, THAT IS, THE EGO ‘I’ MATTER? Why not, then, allow the Silence of the Self, in which there is not even the least rising of the ‘I’-thought, to take over and forget the mind’s hassles and simply ignore them?

Question to deeply ponder is, what power and ability does really the false, reflected ‘I’ possess? Does it have the power to even search and find its own Source? Wherefrom does it acquire the strength and courage to conduct Enquiry? There should be no doubt that both the inspiration and ability to enquire spring from Sri Bhagwan’s Grace alone. I have no doubt whatever that It is His Grace that drew us to Him, made us aware of His Teaching and put us on the supremely beneficial path of the Enquiry. It is His Grace alone that sustains us on His great Path. THEREFORE, IT IS THE GRACE THAT IS THE VERY GOAL. Yes, we must strive constantly but a striving too is made possible by the Grace only. This is not to say that effort is not necessary. Our conscious effort to attend to OURSELVES is of paramount importance. Therefore, there is no need to worry. Our duty is to enquire, reach the Swarupa and just be. That is complete surrender.